Sustainable and resilient provision of water – under both routine conditions and following extreme events – is a key societal and infrastructure need. Crises related to fires in the western US, to hurricane impacts (e.g., Maria in Puerto Rico; Harvey in Houston), and to other acute events or societal and biophysical changes reveal how water services can be impacted and devastate communities. Seeking greater sustainability and resilience – in the face of climate change (floods, hurricanes, drought, fire), aging infrastructure, cybersecurity needs, pandemics, economic disruptions, and population growth – necessitates changes in water management. Overcoming these interconnected and complex water management challenges is a daunting task. There is increased urgency to modernize and integrate water management practices, but for most communities (especially, small communities), management remains ad hoc and siloed.

Universal access to reliable, safe, affordable, water sector service is essential to maintaining public health, economic prosperity, and wellbeing. It is in our collective national interest that everyone has sustained access to clean water and sanitation. Yet, the reality is that maintaining and operating water systems is incredibly costly. This creates a dilemma for people who cannot pay water bills and also for utilities who cannot cover costs to provide affordable water. The time is right to re-envision how we price and distribute the costs of water in a way that reflects its value as a public good. Effective tools are emerging to help utilities achieve financial stability and provide more compassionate policies and practices to ensure no residents go without critical water and sanitation services.

An Intelligent Water System is a technological, socially enabled, approach that integrates and derives information from cyber-space, physical-space and social-space. It is based on an improved systems understanding that integrates data collection, database management, modeling techniques (including, Artificial Intelligence), decision support, and intelligent workforce skills. The approach supports data-driven decision making and optimizes lifecycle management of water systems (Natural, Built, and Socio-Economic) – leading to water operations that are affordable, reliable, sustainable, resilient, and efficient.